
Republicans Fact-Check Trump’s Claim That Ukraine Started War With Russia: ‘Factually Wrong’
Some GOP lawmakers distanced themselves from Trump's statements calling Zelensky a "dictator without elections" and blaming Ukraine for the war
Some GOP lawmakers distanced themselves from Trump's statements calling Zelensky a "dictator without elections" and blaming Ukraine for the war
- Claim: Zelenskyy is a 'dictator without elections'
- Claim: The U.S. has spent $350 billion on the war in Ukraine
- Claim: The U.S. has spent $200 billion more than Europe; Europe's money is guaranteed
- Claim: Zelenskyy has a 4% approval rating
- Claim: Ukraine started the war with Russia
- A 'dictator without elections'
- Who started the war?
- US aid to Ukraine
- Europe's aid to Ukraine
- 'Millions' of dead?
As reported before, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent arrived in Kyiv on 12 February to discuss economic partnership with Ukraine and met with Zelenskyy during his visit.
Claim: Zelenskyy started the war in Ukraine with Russia.
Claim: Zelenskyy is a dictator.
Claim: Zelenskyy has a 4% approval rating.
Claim: The U.S. spent $350 billion to help Ukraine.
Claim: Zelenskyy said he doesn't know where half of the money the U.S. has given Ukraine went.
Claim: Zelenskyy was "sleeping and unavailable" to meet Treasury Secretary Scott Bessett during a Feb. 12 Kyiv visit.
Attacks by US President Donald Trump on Ukraine's President Volodymyr Zelensky have deepened a crisis between the two leaders as Ukraine's war with Russia approaches its third anniversary.
AFP fact checked some of the statements by the US leader.
In remarks and social media posts, the president echoed Russian talking points. [...]
Here’s an assessment of Trump’s misleading statements on Ukraine in recent days.
Data released by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology (KIIS) shows that while Zelensky's support base has decreased since early 2022, when Russia invaded Ukraine, it is still far higher than Trump's claim of four percent. In a poll conducted between February 4-9, 57 percent of adults said they trusted Zelensky, while 37 percent of respondents said that they do not and six percent said it was hard to say.
Despite the US president's claims of low support, Zelenskyy's approval rating reached 57% in February - higher than Trump's own.
There is no credible poll in Ukraine that shows Zelensky with an approval rating in the single digits. Surveys consistently show him in the 50-60 percent approval range, down from the 75-90 percent marks he was getting earlier in the war.
February's KIIS poll showed 57 percent of Ukrainians trust Zelensky, which is a higher level of support than President Trump has received in recent polls from Gallup (48 percent) and YouGov (47 percent).